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AL Injury Notes: Osuna, Cruz, Mariners, Guerrero, Iglesias

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Some injury notes from around the American League:

  • Astros’ closer Roberto Osuna has progressed to throwing, per GM James Click (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Osuna was seemingly ticketed for a Tommy John surgery after going down with an elbow injury earlier, although the reliever instead elected to rehab and attempt to return this season. The likelihood of that happening isn’t clear, but it’s generally encouraging to hear that he’s throwing again.
  • Twins’ DH Nelson Cruz was scratched from today’s lineup against the Cubs. He’s dealing with right knee soreness, per various reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). Eddie Rosario, who was initially slated to start in left field, got to DH instead, with LaMonte Wade, Jr. taking over in left. Cruz has again been among MLB’s best hitters, slashing .314/.403/.623 over 201 plate appearances.
  • A pair of Mariners are unsurprisingly out for the season, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Catcher Tom Murphy has been shut down; he’ll miss the entire year due to a fractured metatarsal in his left foot. Outfielder Mitch Haniger continues to build up strength and endurance but hasn’t yet begun baseball activities, per Divish. Like Murphy, Haniger missed all of 2020.
  • The Blue Jays held Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. out of today’s lineup as a precaution, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The young first baseman felt “a little dizzy” after being hit by a pitch in the helmet last night, per Nicholson-Smith. The Jays can afford to slow play things with Guerrero, as they sit four games up on Seattle for the final playoff spot in the American League.
  • Orioles’ shortstop José Iglesias left tonight’s game after getting hit on the left hand by a Charlie Morton pitch, relays Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Pat Valaika stepped in at short in his stead. The 30-year-old Iglesias, a longtime defensive stalwart, has been stellar when healthy for Baltimore, hitting .377/.406/.515 in 139 plate appearances. He has been diagnosed a left wrist contusion, per Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com (Twitter link).

Mariners Option Mallex Smith, Transfer Tom Murphy To 45-Day IL

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The Mariners have optioned outfielder Mallex Smith to their alternate training site and recalled righty Art Warren, per a team announcement. The club also sent catcher Tom Murphy to the 45-day injured list, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. They now have an open spot on their 40-man roster as a result.

This continues a brutal year-plus for Smith, who had a terrific season as a Ray in 2018 but hasn’t come close to replicating that production in Seattle. In his second and last season with the Rays, Smith batted .296/.367/.406 (118 wRC+) with 40 stolen bases and 3.5 fWAR in 544 plate appearances. The Mariners surely expected similar success when they dealt catcher Mike Zunino to Tampa Bay for Smith in a five-player swap before 2019. Instead, while he did add 46 steals to his resume a year ago, Smith was a replacement-level who mustered a weak line of .227/.300/.335 (74 wRC+) over 566 trips to the plate.

This season has gone far worse for the 27-year-old Smith, evidenced by his .133/.170/.178 slash and minus-4 wRC+ in 47 PA. He wasn’t able to keep his job in right field, where the Mariners have been turning to Dylan Moore lately, but Smith will remain on their taxi squad.

As for Murphy, this continues to look as if it will be a lost year (or something close to it) for a player who enjoyed an outstanding 2019 campaign in Seattle. Murphy hasn’t been able to build on it because of the fractured metatarsal in his left foot that sent him to the 10-day IL on July 23. The Murphy-less Mariners have used a combination of Austin Nola, Joe Odom and Joe Hudson at catcher. Nola has been a bright spot as the starter, which has softened the blow of losing Murphy.

Mariners Sign Bryan Shaw, Place Tom Murphy On Injured List

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The Mariners announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran right-hander Bryan Shaw to a Major League deal. It was reported earlier this week that Shaw, who was recently released by the Rockies, was expected to sign in Seattle. He’ll go right onto the 30-man roster for the Mariners. Seattle also placed catcher Tom Murphy on the 10-day IL with a fractured metatarsal in his left foot and added catcher Joe Odom to the 60-man player pool.

Shaw, 32, was an absolute workhorse out of the Indians’ bullpen for the better part of a decade but struggled immediately upon joining the Rockies on a three-year deal prior to the 2018 season. He’s earning $9MM on that pact, but the Mariners will only be responsible for the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on the roster. The Rockies are on the hook for the rest.

Over the past two seasons in Colorado, Shaw has been hammered for a 5.61 ERA as his HR/9 rate more than doubled from his Cleveland days. It might be easy to assume that’s attributable to Coors Field and Denver’s altitude, but Shaw wasn’t demonstrably better on the road as a Rockie than he was at home; in fact, he pitched much better at Coors Field in 2019 than he did away from Colorado.

That said, prior to his ugly tenure with the Rox, Shaw was a prominent setup man who’d rattled off a a 3.13 ERA and 3.52 FIP in 446 1/3 MLB frames between the D-backs and Indians. With a track record like that and plenty of uncertainty in the Seattle ’pen, it’s not hard to see why Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto felt it worth taking a look. Shaw could have some high-leverage work early in the year even, particularly with Austin Adams opening the year on the injured list.

As for Murphy, it’s a tough blow for the former Rockies top prospect who enjoyed a breakout with the Mariners in 2019. He’d been expected to begin the year as the team’s starting catcher — his first-ever Opening Day as a primary backstop — but that role will now go to Austin Nola. The converted infielder turned heads in the upper minors with the Marlins after his position change and eventually broke through in the big leagues last year with a .269/.342/.454 showing in 79 games as a 29-year-old rookie.

Latest On Mariners’ Roster

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9:24pm: Dipoto announced that Murphy has a broken bone in his foot, Jen Mueller of ROOT Sports reports. The team’s optimistic it won’t take long for Murphy to heal, but he’ll start the season on the injured list.

7:15pm: The Mariners are in the process of finalizing their 30-man roster for their season opener, but it appears they’ll begin without a couple notable players, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3).

Reliever Austin Adams won’t be available when the Mariners’ season kicks off Friday, as he’s still working back from the right knee surgery he underwent last September. Meanwhile, catcher Tom Murphy is battling a left ankle problem that hasn’t responded well to treatment, and the Mariners won’t know until Thursday morning whether he or reliever Bryan Shaw (whom they agreed to sign this week) will be immediately available. As Divish writes, Shaw has to pass coronavirus intake requirements before he’s able to join the team.

Both Adams and Murphy proved to be worthwhile scrapheap pickups for the Mariners last year. The club landed the right-handed Adams in a minor trade with the Nationals, and as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained in April, it paid dividends. In his first season in Seattle, Adams posted a 3.77 ERA/2.96 FIP with 14.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 31 innings.

Murphy, acquired from the Giants heading into last season, also emerged as a shrewd addition, as MLBTR’s Anthony Franco noted this past spring. He slashed an impressive .273/.324/.535 with 18 home runs and 3.2 fWAR in just 76 games and 281 plate appearances while backing up Omar Narvaez. Now that Narvaez is a member of the Brewers, Murphy’s in line to get the lion’s share of playing time at catcher, but that will obviously depend on his health.

If Murphy’s unable to start the season, the Mariners are likely to turn to Austin Nola and Joe Hudson behind the plate, but Divish reports that general manager Jerry Dipoto is keeping an eye on the free-agent and waiver markets for outside help. Russell Martin is easily the best free-agent backstop available, but there’s no word on whether the M’s are interested in him or if the 37-year-old wants to play this season.

The Mariners Might Have Found A Core Piece For The Future

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The Mariners’ trade for Tom Murphy a little over a year ago didn’t turn heads. Murphy had once been a notable prospect in the Rockies’ organization, but the shine had seemingly worn off. He saw sporadic action for Colorado between 2015-18, but his .219/.271/.439 line in 210 cumulative plate appearances was underwhelming. Even more disheartening, the Rockies themselves seemingly soured on him. Over those four seasons, the club gave more playing time to all of Tony Wolters, Nick Hundley, Chris Iannetta and Dustin Garneau, en route to largely underwhelming results. Even amidst that suboptimal situation, Murphy didn’t earn himself a long look.

The out-of-options Murphy bounced from the Rockies to the Giants on waivers last spring. After San Francisco decided he wasn’t in line to make the active roster, they shipped him to Seattle for a minimal return (minor-league pitcher Jesus Ozoria). That might have been a coup.

Murphy shined in 2019, his most extensive action to date. He and Omar Narváez quietly combined for a 121 wRC+, the best offensive production by a catching tandem in MLB. Murphy was a big part of that, having hit .273/.324/.535 (126 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 281 plate appearances. Unlike the bat-first Narváez, Murphy also rated well defensively. He drew plaudits from Baseball Prospectus for his blocking and pitch framing, while his 39% caught stealing rate was well above-average. All told, he rated as a top 25 defender at the position by both Defensive Runs Saved and BP’s Fielding Runs Above Average.

Pairing huge power production with above-average defense, Murphy was one of the game’s most valuable catchers last season. His 3.2 fWAR ranked fifth at the position, trailing J.T. Realmuto, Yasmani Grandal, Mitch Garver and Christian Vázquez. Of that group, only fellow breakout slugger Garver logged a partial season’s worth of playing time as Murphy did.

It’s unlikely Murphy will maintain that level of production moving forward, as there are some red flags in his offensive profile. His .340 BABIP masked a 31% strikeout rate. That’ll almost certainly regress moving forward, particularly given Murphy’s fly-ball heavy approach and below-average speed. He’s also never been one to draw many walks, and that continued even amidst his power barrage. But even if Murphy ends up a low-OBP hitter, there’s plenty to like about the profile.

The right-handed hitter drew plaudits for his raw power as a prospect. While the baseball composition no doubt played some role in his home run frenzy, he hits the ball hard and frequently gets it in the air. He’s a strong bet to hit for much more power than is typical of the position. And Murphy’s 71.1% contact rate, while below-average, isn’t catastrophic. Skeptical Mariners’ fans could have visions of Mike Zunino. Zunino, though, never connected on more than 67.4% of his swings in a season. There are some similarities in the players’ general profiles, but Murphy already makes more contact than Seattle’s former catcher ever has.

The 29-year-old looks like a potential core piece of the Mariners’ rebuild. Narváez has been traded away, so Murphy has his clearest path to playing time yet (although Austin Nola was expected to be a highly-utilized #2 before the shutdown). Controlled through 2023, he’s squarely within the club’s anticipated contention window.

Murphy, Nola To Split Time Evenly At Catcher For Mariners

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While most clubs deploy a clear starter and backup with regard to their catching tandem, the Mariners will have a much more balanced workload behind the plate in 2020, manager Scott Servais told reporters this week (link via Greg Johns of MLB.com). Tom Murphy and Austin Nola will split time in a roughly “55-45” timeshare, per Servais, who acknowledged that Murphy will likely get the nod on Opening Day (and, presumably, receive the slightly larger workload at catcher).

Both Murphy, 28, and Nola, 30, were plucked from relative obscurity by Seattle — the former in a minor trade and the latter on a minor league deal. Both turned in productive efforts in limited time in 2019, as well. Murphy was a clear backup to Omar Narvaez (traded to Milwaukee this winter), catching 67 games while hitting .273/.324/.535 with 18 home runs in 281 plate appearances.

Statcast graded Murphy’s framing efforts nicely behind the plate, and in spite of below-average pop time, Murphy was able to nab 39 percent of the runners who attempted to steal against him. The former top prospect was cut loose by the Rockies organization without ever being afforded an extended look in the Majors, landing with the division-rival Giants on a waiver claim. Four days later, the Giants traded him to Seattle for minor league righty Jesus Ozoria.

As for Nola, the older brother of Phillies righty Aaron Nola, he was simply cut loose by the Marlins organization after making the transition from infielder to catcher while in Triple-A. He functioned more as an infielder with the Mariners in 2019, catching only seven games but appearing in 59 games at first base and another 15 at second base.

However, Nola is focused “strictly” on catching in 2020, per Johns, which is surely due in no small part to the expected emergence of prospect Evan White as the Mariners’ Opening Day first baseman. White signed a six-year contract with three club options before ever appearing in a big league game and is poised to break camp with the club. But even with first base now spoken for, it seems Nola’s strong showing in 2019 will earn him an extended audition elsewhere. Nola ripped through the Pacific Coast League with a .327/.415/.520 slash (134 wRC+) in 55 games last year before being called to the Majors — a promotion to which he responded with a .269/.342/.454 slash (267 plate appearances, 114 wRC+).

Given Nola’s versatility, it’s still possible he’ll see time at other positions, but with Narvaez out of the picture, he’ll have his first extended run as a catcher at the MLB level. Eventually, top catching prospect Cal Raleigh could push his way onto the MLB scene, although at that point, one can imagine Nola as an ideal candidate for the newly created 26th roster spot, given his experience at catcher, first base, second base and third base (as well as a couple of corner-outfield cameos). The 23-year-old Raleigh was Seattle’s third-round pick in 2018 and batted a combined .251/.323/.497 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last year.

Mariners Acquire Tom Murphy

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1:06pm: The Mariners have announced the trade. To make room for Murphy on the 25-man roster, Freitas has indeed been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

12:55pm: The Mariners will send minor league righty Jesus Ozoria to the Giants in return for Murphy, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. The 20-year-old Ozoria has yet to pitch above Rookie ball but logged 49 1/3 innings of 2.19 ERA ball there last season. Ozoria turned in a brilliant 59-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time and paired it with a 39.3 percent grounder rate. He’s a long way from MLB readiness but seemingly adds a live arm to the lower levels of the organization. The long-term question will be one of whether Ozoria carries more value than righty Merandy Gonzalez, whom the Giants designated for assignment when claiming Murphy; the move, in essence, swaps those two pitchers out while also clearing a spot on the Giants’ 40-man roster.

7:20am: The Mariners have reached a deal to acquire catcher Tom Murphy from the Giants, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). San Francisco claimed the out-of-options Murphy from the Rockies earlier this week but did not carry him on the Opening Day roster, ultimately designating him for assignment just days after initially claiming him. Seattle has an open 40-man roster spot, so a corresponding move isn’t a necessity.

Currently, Omar Narvaez and David Freitas are the only catchers on Seattle’s 40-man roster, so Murphy figures to supplant Freitas as the primary backup/platoon partner for Narvaez. Freitas has options remaining and can freely be sent to Triple-A without first being placed on waivers.

Murphy, 28 next week, was once considered to be among the game’s top catching prospects but hasn’t produced at the plate in limited Major League opportunities across the past couple of seasons (.188/.221/.325 in 122 plate appearances). The Rockies, who owe veteran Chris Iannetta nearly $5MM through contract’s end, opted for a more defensive-minded second catcher in Tony Wolters when they cut Murphy loose.

Murphy, however, isn’t a poor defender by most measures. He sports average caught-stealing rates in both the Majors and minors throughout his career, and while he’s not a standout in terms of pitch framing, he’s been a bit above average in that regard over the past three seasons combined. At the plate, Murphy raked at a .266/.341/.608 clip through his first 88 plate appearances from 2015-16. He has a career .286/.335/.567 batting line across 875 Triple-A plate appearances, including a .258/.333/.568 slash in 264 PAs a year ago.

Giants Designate Mac Williamson, Alen Hanson, Tom Murphy

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The Giants have announced their final roster moves, with a trio dropped from the 40-man. Out of options players Mac Williamson, Alen Hanson, and Tom Murphy have all been designated for assignment after failing to crack the active roster, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.

It had been clear already that Hanson and Murphy were on their way off the 40-man, but Williamson’s fate was not resolved. But the writing was largely on the wall. The San Francisco organization made clear it would carry newly acquired outfielders Michael Reed and Connor Joe along with third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

Williamson has flashed ability at times, including a stirring power outburst last year at Triple-A. But the 28-year-old’s 2018 season was stunted by a concussion and he has yet to make good on his talent at the game’s highest level. Through 339 total plate appearances in the majors, Williamson carries a .222/.295/.386 slash with 13 home runs.

Giants Announce Roster Decisions On Hanson, Murphy, Sandoval

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Giants skipper Bruce Bochy has announced several notable roster decisions to reporters, including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (links to Twitter). Of particular note, out-of-options players Alen Hanson and Tom Murphy will not be carried on the active roster, meaning they’ll either need to be traded or exposed to waivers.

Recently acquired, right-handed-hitting outfielders Michael Reed and Connor Joe (who also has infield experience) are both slated to have MLB jobs, per Bochy. And the same holds for veteran third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who’s said to be in the club’s plans for the time being.

Hanson, 26, played a big role for the Giants last year. He was excellent in the first half of the season but faded down the stretch, ending the year with a .252/.274/.425 slash. While it’s rarely wise to read too much into spring stats, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Hanson racked up twenty strikeouts in his 54 plate appearances in camp.

As for Murphy, he was only just plucked off waivers from the division-rival Rockies. Evidently, the plan was to nab him in hopes of slipping him to Triple-A through the wire. Whether that works out remains to be seen.

It seemingly remains a fluid situation in San Francisco, with late-spring decisions from other teams potentially still intervening. As Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic notes on Twitter, the evening’s announcements appear to indicate that either Sandoval or out-of-options outfielder Mac Williamson will ultimately need to be bumped from the roster. If the latter is sent packing, that’d seem to leave Joe and Redd (with an assist from Yangervis Solarte) responsible for manning one corner spot while also filling in at times for left-handed-hitting outfielders Steven Duggar and Gerardo Parra.

Giants Claim Tom Murphy From Rockies

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The Giants have claimed catcher Tom Murphy off waivers from the Rockies, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (via Twitter). Colorado reportedly placed the 27-year-old Murphy, who is out of minor league options, on waivers over the weekend.

The move to acquire Murphy comes just one day after San Francisco acquired another out-of-options catcher, Erik Kratz, in a trade with the Brewers. That now gives the organization three catchers to carry on the 25-man roster to start the season, as Murphy and Kratz will join Buster Posey on the Opening Day roster. As Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area recently wrote, skipper Bruce Bochy did acknowledge that the organization had considered carrying three catchers to begin the year, although at the time, the thinking was that said statement applied to young catcher Aramis Garcia. With Murphy now in the organization, Garcia seems ticketed for Triple-A to open the season.

In placing Murphy on waivers, the Rockies seemingly prioritized catcher defense over Murphy, who arguably has greater offensive potential than in-house options Tony Wolters and Chris Iannetta. (The decision was surely also influenced in part by the $4.8MM still owed to Iannetta.) Murphy showed some of that promise early in his limited MLB experience, hitting .266/.341/.608 through his first 88 MLB plate appearances in 2015-16. Since that time, he’s logged an additional 122 PAs and mustered only a .188/.221/.325 batting line, although that paltry sample of data doesn’t reveal much.

Murphy, a former Top 100 prospect in the eyes of Baseball America, maintained a potent bat in Triple-A last season when he posted a .901 OPS in 264 PAs that is a near-mirror image of his composite .902 OPS from parts of four seasons at the top minor league level. Murphy has been about average at catching base thieves throughout his Major League and minor league tenure, and Baseball Prospectus has valued his pitch-framing and pitch-blocking skills similarly.

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